Currently reading: THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta

I am currently reading THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta, which is published on 29 August in Australia and New Zealand. A couple of years ago I read and enjoyed THE SILENT HOUR, the last (thusfar) of Koryta's series starring private eye Lincoln Perry. The past three books - SO COLD THE RIVER, THE CYPRESS HOUSE, and now THE RIDGE, have all been standalones that have taken a different tack - thrillers that veer more towards horror and the supernatural.

I'm about 50 pages into THE RIDGE, and really enjoying it so far - there's a definite sense of creepiness and unease, and Koryta has me wondering what is really going on in his rural setting. Here's a blurb:

On an isolated ridge in Kentucky stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing more than the surrounding woods. The lighthouse has long been dismissed as an eccentric local landmark - until its builder and keeper is found dead.

For deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble, the lighthouse keeper's death is disturbing and personal. Years ago, Kimble was shot while on duty and this recent death feels somehow connected.

Meanwhile, Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her big-cat sanctuary to land adjacent to the lighthouse. Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards and one legendary black panther are about to have a new home there. Her husband, the sanctuary's founder, died scouting the new property, but Audrey is determined to see his vision through.

As strange occurrences multiply near the lighthouse, the sanctuary's animals grow ever more restless, and Kimble and Audrey struggle to understand what evil forces are at work just past the divide between dark and light . . .

Sounds spooky.
 
You can read my 9mm interview with Koryta, who rivals our own Ben Sanders when it comes to getting an early start in the published crime writing world, here.
 
Have you read any of Koryta's novels? What do you think? Do you like the sound of THE RIDGE? What are your feelings on bringing a touch of supernatural into thrillers? Comments welcome.